Tulsa King Season 2 gave Tina Manfredi a gun — and Tatiana Zappardino is hoping she’ll get to use it. In Season 2, Episode 6, “Navigator,” Tina convinced her father Dwight Manfredi that she wanted a firearm to protect herself and her children… which audiences know is now a very valid concern, since the episode ended with Tyson’s father Mark Mitchell being the victim of a car bomb. But Tina learning how to shoot is one more example of how she’s not just Dwight’s daughter.
CBR spoke to Zappardino about how Tina manages her sometimes awkward relationship with Dwight, and how it compares to her own dynamic with Tulsa King star and movie legend Sylvester Stallone. She explained why she’s hoping that Tina becomes more involved in the action on the Paramount+ show before the war between Dwight and his rivals ends. Plus, she revealed important scenes with Tina that fans never got the chance to see in Season 2.
CBR: The dynamic between Tina and Dwight is complicated. Tina obviously loves her father, but then there are many times where she doesn’t love his behavior, such as when the two of them visited a day school for her kids in “Navigator.” How do you think Tina sees Dwight?
Tatiana Zappardino: My father was similar — like, embarrassed me all the time. And he passed away, so when I look back on the times he used to embarrass me, I wish I’d embraced it more.
I think that because [Tina] missed out on a childhood with [Dwight], she’s kind of just letting him be him. She’s very good at keeping her mouth shut, as you can tell. But at the same time, when she needs to speak up, she’s like, “Okay, shut up.” But I enjoy it personally as an actor. I love that he’s making a buffoon of himself… and Tina’s just so, “Okay, got it. Thank you. Love your interpretation of the world. Gotta go.”
Yet the relationship only works if you’re able to hold your own on-screen with Sylvester Stallone. The audience has to believe Tina can stand up to her father. So how have you worked with him to achieve that?
Sly is a lot more personable than he seems like he would be. Because he’s been in the industry for so long, you think he’s this untouchable guy — and he is on the accolades level. But the first time I met him, he came up to me and he talked to me and he’s like, I’m so happy you’re here. There wasn’t a separation between him and everyone else.
He really comes down to your level and he’s like, hey, let’s talk about the scene. How do you feel about it? He’s still an actor. He’s an actor’s actor. He’s not about like, let’s get all me, I want to look the best on camera — he’s not like that. He’s actually like okay, my take is good, let’s move on.
There’s not much ego on set, which makes it easier to work with him. Especially [playing] his daughter, it would be a little more uncomfortable if he was that kind of high and mighty, egotistical maniac, but he’s not. He’s just like, “Hey, how are you today? Good morning.” So it’s easy.
Tulsa King has, or maybe had, a pretty decent separation between Dwight’s family storylines and his mobster storylines. Is being away from the chaos something you enjoy, or do you want to be more involved with the show’s big picture?
My God, I’ve been begging to be one of the gangsters. That’s a dream. When you’re an actor, you want to play roles that you’re not going to be in real life. And clearly, I’m not going to go be in a gang in real life. Absolutely not. But on television, you get to step in the shoes of other characters that are just so different from you.
Right now I’m playing the bratty daughter with kids — and that’s literally my life now. I’m just playing my life on television, which is cool. You get paid to play yourself. But at the same time, I’m ready to shoot people in the face. I’m definitely ready to be on that side of the world.
But I do think they like having two distinct worlds. [There’s] the happy flowers and rainbows world, and the kicking down doors and killing people world — and I don’t think they like to combine it. I’m hoping one day it’ll be messy enough that I’ll be on the other side.
Is there a storyline that you’d have in mind for Tina in that instance? The obvious idea based on her comments in Episode 6 would be having her abducted by Dwight’s nemesis Cal Thresher or the Kansas City mob, yet that would also be really stereotypical.
I’ve been a huge advocate on set, trying not to make my role too stereotypical female. Sometimes I’d get scripts and I’d be like, well, you know what, I feel like this time, this day and age, maybe I wouldn’t say that. I was advocating for myself. I was like, no, I don’t think Tina would be a sit around and take it kind of girl.
I think that she would be a stand up for herself woman. I’m hoping that if that does come, it’s not kidnapping, because that is very cliche [to have] the women get kidnapped. I’m hoping that she’s able to fight back and defend herself — and she ends up winning.
Seeing Tina in an extended scene with Garrett Hedlund’s character Mitch Keller was a delight, because so much of her screen time is with Dwight. Is there any other actor whom you’d like to work more extensively with?
I find Martin Starr’s character Bodhi fascinating. He’s one of the only characters in the gang who is forced to put up with Dwight’s shit and doesn’t necessarily want to. He’s already at that shifting point where he kind of doesn’t want to listen… So I’d love to have scenes with him.
I love doing scenes with Mitch. I want to explore more of that — maybe sing with him on stage, because I love to sing. And then Dana [Delany]’s character, mainly just so I can ride horses with her.
Have you had favorite moments from Tulsa King Season 2 so far?
I’m actually really sad about some of the stuff that got cut this season. I did a scene with with Agent Beale in the first episode that they cut. I followed her to her car and I was like, I’m asking you, is my father a good man? She’s like, why don’t you decide for yourself. I loved that scene so much, because I think it also wrapped up the whole Tina being on the fence with whether she was going to stay [in Tulsa] or go kind of thing. Whether she was going to just let everything go and be on his side. It breaks my heart that it didn’t show.
I have a feeling that another scene was cut that I loved with Mitch. I talked about why I was with my husband in the first place, because I think that brings up a lot of questions. [Emory] was a super vanilla, just kind of nothing character. I love the actor; Loren [Dunn] is amazing. [But] the couple didn’t make sense… So I had this whole description of why I was with him, running away from who I am, because I wanted somebody who wasn’t my father. And I love that scene so much.
Is there anything you want viewers to know about the character of Tina that hasn’t been explored yet?
I think she wants to find herself — and I don’t think she has yet. I think she was trying to find herself in New York; something was missing. She’s trying to find herself in Oklahoma; something’s missing. I’m so excited to see when Tina finds her voice, and finds where she fits into this world. Because I don’t think there’s a place for her yet. I think she’s on the outside looking in.
And that relates a lot to my life. I always felt like I was kind of behind the glass, trying to see where the world is. It was right out of reach. And I’m excited for Tina to break the glass.
I like to mention the female characters in the show because there aren’t many, unfortunately, but the ones who are in the show are just bombshells. Awesome killer actors. Love working with them. Sweetest humans ever. And I just wish they would get a little more attention. Because yes, the guys on the show are awesome. But I want to give my shoutout to the girls — to Dana, to Annabella [Sciorra], to Scarlett [Rose Stallone], to Andrea [Savage], to McKenna [Quigley Harrington].